Gilles Coulon
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  • Born in 1966 in Nogent-sur-Marne (France)

     

    Gilles Coulon began his career photographing different facets of French society, under the supervision of the French daily newspaper Libération. The Paris “banlieue”, precariousness at work and immigration were his central themes.
    In 1989, he went to Mali for the first time. The discovery of this country was followed by the publication of three books: Un président en campagne records Alpha Oumar Konaré’s electoral campaign, Avoir vingt ans à Bamako (being twenty in Bamako) expresses the energy of Malian youth, and Delta is an immersion into the very animated lives of the inhabitants of the banks of the Niger River.
    In 1997 he was awarded the World Press Photo First Prize in the “Daily Life” category for his documentary on Peuls tribes who lead a nomadic existence between Mali and Mauritania.
    He then moved away from his previous subjects with “White Night”, a photographic research project on light bulbs, photographed in hap hazard situations around the world, carried out over a period of four years. This documentary is now presented in a book published in 2005 by the Steidl Editions.
    He went back to Mali in 2006 to make a series on “Grins” which are conversation circles in Bamako that take place on a regular basis. This documentary was exhibited the same year at the Arles International Photography Festival.
    Last July, Gilles Coulon at the request of the Council of Landes realized a photographic work on the Flamenco within the framework of the international festival Arte Flamenco of Mont-de-Marsan.